In the very heart of Asia, where the Altai mountains begin, in the picturesque Anuya Valley is the famous Denisova Cave. It is located on the border of the Ust-Kansky and Soloneshensky districts, near the village of Cherny Anuy (4 km) and 250 km from the city of Biysk. Denisova Cave rises 670 meters above sea level.
origin of name
Judging by an old legend, the cave received this name due to the fact that at the very end of the 18th century the Old Believer settled in it - the hermit Dionysius (in the world of Denis). He was a spiritual shepherd for the Old Believers of nearby villages, and Kerzhaks often came to his cell for advice and blessings. And at the beginning of the XIX century, missionary priests ceased to have any interest in the Denisova Cave in Altai.
At the same time, in 1926, during a trip to Altai, the prominent Russian and Soviet archaeologist and great artist N.K. Roerich visited the cave.
Locals call the Ayu-Tash cave, which translates as "Bear Stone." From generation to generation they pass on the legend that the Black Shaman lived here in antiquity - evil and very powerful. He could at any moment turn into a huge bear. This villain from folk myth dominated the Altai nomads, forcing them to pay a huge tribute.
If they did not obey him, with the help of his witching charms he gathered clouds over the cave, molded a huge stone from them and rolled it to the foot of the mountain. Where the stone path ran, thunderstorms did not stop, which destroyed pastures and crops.
Desperate people began to pray for the help of the most important god - Ulgenu, who managed to defeat the tormentor. He safely hid the thunder stone in the distant galleries of the cave.
Of course, this is only the legend that Denisova Cave keeps. The Soloneshensky district (Altai Territory), or rather the inhabitants of the village nearest to it (Black Anuy), often accuse archaeologists who for many years "dig something in a cave." The villagers are sure that it is the archaeologists who are guilty of spoiling the weather, because, according to them, it’s enough to break off a very tiny piece from the shaman’s stone - and rainfall is guaranteed for two days.
Altai Territory, Denisova Cave: description
On one of the slopes of the mountain, a few meters above the road opens a wide entrance to the cave. Its area is 270 square meters. m, length - 110 meters. The cave has a “central hall” at the very entrance and two smaller indentations inside the rock.
Grotto in front of the entrance
Of greatest interest to archaeologists is the grotto, located in front of the entrance. It can be reached through the oval hole. The size of the grotto is 32x7 m. The height and width of the arches increase as the entrance is removed. The widest part reaches 11 meters.
The grotto has several branches. Two of them are a direct continuation of the cave. In the upper part there is a through hole with a diameter of a little more than a meter. The most daring travelers climb up and enjoy the magnificent view. Natural light penetrates the cave through this hole, so most of it is well lit. It is dry throughout the year, the grotto is, as in ancient times, a good natural refuge for animals and humans, protection from the weather.
The first geophysicists working here called the cave using their special equipment, and decided that the central hall and the galleries extending from it were only the beginning of huge voids extending deep into the cliffs. Now these internal cavities are completely littered with a huge layer of deposits.
Research
The very first studies in the Denisova Cave in Altai (in its central hall) were carried out by the famous Siberian paleontologist Nikolai Ovodov, who laid the first two exploratory pits and made measurements of the natural education sites available at that time in 1978. At the same time, the object was examined by archaeologists led by academician A.P. Okladnikov.
Of great interest to scientists have always been the caves of the Altai mountains. Denisova cave after the first research has gradually entered the world history of archeology.
For example, the oldest of the cultural layers of human habitation in Siberia was discovered here. It belongs to the Paleolithic era, and its age is 282 thousand years. Previously, there was a version that ancient people in this area could not appear before 50-30 thousand years BC. e. Excavation results showed that in ancient times the foothills of Altai covered broad-leaved forests, in which hornbeam, Manchurian walnut, oak and northern species of bamboo grew. On the territory of North Asia, the remains of a man of the Neanderthal era were found.
Scientists are sure that Denisova Cave is an archaeological monument of the Altai Mountains. It was discovered more than 50 thousand stone artifacts, various ornaments made of bone; collected a large collection of mammalian bones. Of course, an interesting find is a treasure trove of iron things that belong to the XIV century, a pit in which grain of the same time was stored, a bronze knife.
Using the cave at different times
In the IV-III millennium, during the Afanasyev culture, Denisova Cave was used as a refuge for shepherds and cattle. To keep animals inside, free grottoes and niches were fenced off. Shepherds hunted wild animals, sheep meat was eaten only in the most extreme case, when the hunt was unsuccessful. This is confirmed by the detected tips of darts and arrows. Liquid was stored in ceramic vessels. To cut the carcasses, stone tools were used, which were made here. This is evidenced by production waste that archaeologists found.
It has not yet been sufficiently studied how the cave was used by carriers of the Bronze Age culture.
The Scythian period is characterized by powerful cultural deposits, which indicates a long stay of a person in a cave. It was a storehouse of food supplies - meat, grain and dairy products, since it always had a low temperature.
The Huns and Turks used this natural object for ritual ceremonies. By the number of archaeological finds, by the level of their value for science, many researchers equate this amazing cave with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. Many believe that the results of excavations conducted in the Denisova Cave were perceived by the general public as less sensational than Egyptian ones. At the same time, something was discovered that made a lot of noise in the scientific world.
Awesome find
Archaeologists have extracted from the eleventh layer in a cave the remains of a previously unknown type of ancient man. This was reported by scientists in the journal Nature in 2010. A man from the Denisova Cave is genetically equally distant from both the Neanderthal man and modern Homo sapiens. The researchers came to this opinion after deciphering the genome that was preserved in tissue samples - the phalanx bone of the finger and molar.
Priceless treasury
Every year, with every Denisov artifact found, the cave became more and more attractive for researchers. It was decided to equip a scientific field camp at this place. Since 1982, scientists in Novosibirsk began to periodically explore the cave. They attracted specialists of various profiles to their work not only from Russia, but also from Japan, the USA, Korea, Belgium and other countries.
Denisova Cave is under the protection of UNESCO. Now the scientific camp has turned into a research institute with a cameral laboratory. Here, primary work is carried out with the found exhibits. More than 100 archaeologists and specialists from other fields of science conduct research here annually. For 30 years of excavation, scientists managed to explore only a small part of the cave.
Decoding the DNA of Denisov cave inhabitants
Today, the decoding of material extracted from the phalanx and tooth, and DNA studies confirm the fact of revealing a new human population of the ancient world. The research results clarify the path along which he developed. The genome of this individual was compared with the genomes of fifty-four of our contemporaries from different ends of the Earth, with the DNA of an ancient person, as well as six Neanderthals.
The results are quite interesting. Scientists have found that the Denisovans moved away from the classical branch of human development about a million years ago and began to evolve independently, but, unfortunately, this path turned out to be a dead end.
Human evolution has progressed towards Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. About 400 thousand years ago, these species went on different paths of development. The second led to the appearance of modern man, and the first led to a dead end.
Denisova cave in Altai and its artifacts
Currently, scientists are sure that the culture of the inhabitants of the cave was more progressive than that of the Neanderthals who once inhabited the surrounding rocks.
Neanderthals had tools made of stone (scrapers, arrowheads, etc.), in appearance resembling Western European things. In Denisova Cave, the remains of culture and life, whose age totals 50 thousand years, were discovered. According to archaeological features, this is fully consistent with the culture of a person who had a modern physical appearance.
Not only stone, but also bone objects and tools were discovered. But they were processed in more advanced ways. As an example, we can cite miniature (about 5 centimeters) stone needles in which the ears were drilled.
Lovely bracelet
In addition, a magnificent stone decoration was found in the cave, which changes the idea of primitive man. These are two elements of a chloditolite bracelet - a stone that was brought from the Ore Altai, located two hundred and fifty kilometers from the cave.
The mineral is quite rare, able to change color depending on the lighting. Traces of the internal bore were preserved on the bracelet, but the most surprising is that drilling was carried out on the machine.
Such technology began to be widely used only in the Neolithic era, so it was previously believed that it was no more than fifteen thousand years old. A wonderful bracelet was discovered in a layer dating back 50 thousand years!
The study of the bracelet showed that, probably, it was a complex subject. Beads made from the shell of ostrich eggs brought from Transbaikalia or Mongolia were found in the same layer. All this indicates a high level of development of the Denisova Cave inhabitants - spiritual, social, aesthetic and technological.
